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Model Horse Blab FAQ

Here you can find answers to questions about how the board works. Use the links or search box below to find your way around.

Create a Post

You can create a post in the
following ways

Create a New Thread: To start a new
thread, go to the appropriate forum on Blab and locate the "New Thread" button.
Clicking it will open the post editor so that you can compose a new message,
including a thread title.

"Quick Reply" to a Thread: At the bottom of every
thread page is an edit window titled "Quick Reply". Post your reply
with the button in the lower right frame, "Post Quick Reply."

"Reply" and "Reply with Quote" to a Post: Each post has
buttons in the lower right frame allowing you to respond.

The above are ready-to-hand posting tools. Keep an eye out, and you
may spot more buttons for adding a post to a thread.

ALL POSTING - Access to more easy formatting & display tools!Click the button "More Edit Options" in the lower right frame of
the edit box from every post creation and editing option,
if you would like to access more formatting and display functions (such as inserting
images and video, and more). Mouse-over each icon for a description.

See below for a summary of functions in "More Edit Options" (or
just click the button and browse the icons).

How to Edit Your Posts

Editing after submitting a post

You have 15 minutes to edit your post and thread title.
After 15 minutes the thread is no longer editable. Edits submitted
after the first 10 minutes will show a "edited by" notation at the bottom.

You have 90 minutes to add a poll to your post.

To edit your posts, click the "Edit Post" button in the lower right
frame of your post. After editing, click the "Save" button in the lower right.

More formatting options and editing conveniences are available
by clicking the "More Edit Options" in the lower right
frame of the edit window.

After you save your modifications, a note may appear at the bottom
of the post (in small italic font) notifying other users that you have
edited your post.

Deleting what you posted can only be done during the 15 minute edit window
by clearing the posted content, then save the post.

Blab administration does not delete or edit your posts for you

Think carefully before hitting submit !!!

If you are very upset or not your usual charming self, that is not the
time to post on Blab. (Or anywhere else on the internet - your feelings
may become more moderate, but the un-editable content you posted will not.)

Be ready to stand by anything you post on Blab, because it is going
to be there a very, very, loooonnng time!

"More Edit Options" post editing button: formatting options and editing conveniences
At the bottom right of every post edit box (creating or editing) is a
button "More Edit Options".

Selecting this button opens an editor with more formatting buttons, and icons to
insert images, videos and tables, as well as other cool functions. The icons for
these edit functions are displayed above the edit window.

"More Edit Options" includes

Font selections (e.g. Arial Narrow, Times New Roman, etc.)

Font size, color, italic, bold, underline

Insert photos, images, video

Insert by uploading from your computer

Insert by linking a url

Create tables, add rows and columns

Quote box

Hide box

Superscript and Subscript

and more!

Also, keep scrolling down BELOW the post edit window to find even
more options - add an icon to the left of the post title on the forum
display screen; manage attachments (you can delete some if you have too
many); change your subscription to the thread; etc.

Dressing Up Your Posts Generally

Blab's default post edit window includes icons above the post edit area.
You can highlight text in your post to format them with bold, italic,
different font colors, and so forth.

Keep in mind that formatting should be done only to help convey your
message, not just to 'play around' with decoration. Blab readers do
not appreciate excessive use of highlighting, etc.

To access more post editing features to insert images, hyperlinks and
so forth, click "More Edit Options" in the lower right frame of your
post edit window. More editing icons will appear above the post edit area.

Quoting a Post within your Post (and Quoting Multiple Posts)

If you want to quote a
particular post in your reply, make sure you depress the "Quote" button on
the bottom-right of that post. You may select this button on multiple posts,
and all will be quoted in your post editor, after you hit "Quick Reply".

Using the Rate a Thread Feature

While viewing the thread, you will see a menu option in the upper right hand corner called "Rate this Thread;" mousing over it shoots down a menu that allows you to choose a rating (1 is dismal; 5 is excellent). Once enough votes have been cast for the thread rating, you may see a set of stars appear with the title of the thread in the thread listings. These stars reflect the average vote cast, and can allow you to quickly see which threads are worth reading if you are on a very busy forum with a lot of threads.

Automatic thread subscription when you post
Blab's default
setting is that if you post in any thread (including starting the
thread), if there are any later posts, the thread will appear in the
screen that appears when you select My New Content from the
top of the header.

Subscribing to a thread without postingYou can 'subscribe' to any thread, even if you do not post in the thread.
From the thread's top frame
(below the title)
dropdown Thread Tools > Subscribe. Subscribing means new posts made
after your last thread read cause the thread to appear in the My New Content
screen.

Optional email notificationsYou can also choose to receive email notifications of new posts.
From the top of the header, select My Blab > Edit Options.
Scroll down to Message & Notification: (second item) Default Thread
Subscription Mode. Select your preference with the dropdown. "In control
panel only" means a subscribed thread will appear in My New Content.
(This setting applies to all threads. There is no option to apply it only to
select threads.)
The steps above can also be followed to turn off all email notifications
for threads.

Unsubscribing (turning off a subscription to a thread)
If you no longer wish to see a thread with new posts in your My New Content
screen, there are two ways to unsubscribe. Unsubscribing will also turn off email notifications for that
thread. You can re-subscribe at any time, following the instructions above.
1) In your My New Content screen there
is a link beside each thread title with the option to click "unsubscribe".
2) In the thread itself, from the top frame with the dropdown Thread Tools,
the option to unsubscribe will appear, if you are subscribed to the thread.

Adding Hyperlinks in Posts (linking to another internet site)

You can add hyperlinks simply by pasting
a URL into a post and submitting the post. Our PHP code will automatically
display it as a link. To create a hyperlink that appears as a
word (for example, the phrase User CP is a URL), do the following:

Highlight (or "select") the text in your post that you want to be
hotlinked.

Click the web icon (it looks like a globe) on the post edit form.

A
pop-up box with a field will appear with the phrase "http://" already entered
into the field.

Paste your URL into the field and click the "okay" button.

You
can test the link after you submit your post.

Adding Smilies to Your Posts

Smilies are small graphical icons which you can insert into
your posted messages to convey an emotion or feeling, such as a joke or
embarrassment. To use the clickable smilies, simply click the smiley that you
want to insert into your message (only visible in Standard or Enhanced post
editor modes), or click the Show All Smilies link (if available) to access the
full list of smilies. Certain combinations of text characters can trigger
smilies. For example, :) is converted into a smiling face. There is a page
that lists all the smilies on the forum. Additionally, you will see a checkbox
which you can select when you make a new post, which will allow you to 'Disable
Smilies.'

Putting an Icon beside the Title of a Threads or PM

Displaying an icon beside the title can convey the emotion or content of a post at a glance. When you are creating your thread or PM, below the edit window are icons. Select by clicking to darken the circle beside your chosen icon.

Displaying Internet Images

Here are the instructions for posting images or photos from your website in your posts:

Put your Picture on the Internet: You must have your images
stored somewhere on the worldwide web, such as your own website, one of the
many free image-hosting websites (Photobucket,
Webshots,
Shutterfly)
or in the Blab Gallery. If you have no place to store photos, use the
Attachment method described below.

Know the URL to Your Image: After your image is uploaded to the
web, you must know the URL to your image. If for example, your image is
hosted on your own website, then the URL would be
"http://www.yoursite.com/image.jpg."

Create a post with the text you want in it.

Then click the post editor button that appears to have a little
tree on it.

A dialogue box will pop up.

Paste the URL of your image
into the open field in that box, and click the "okay" button.

Depending on your post editor, the image will either display in your draft
post, or it will appear as code:

[img]http://www.yoursite.com/image.jpg[/img]

If you don't see the button
with the little tree on it, you can type the code in yourself, as above.

Attachments allow you to insert photos and other image files from your hard-drive into posts.

To attach a file to a new post, from the initial 'Quick Reply' post edit box, click the lower right button "More Edit Options." Then scroll below the edit box and click the "Manage Attachments" button, opening the attachments manager box. Using the upper right "Add Files" button, you'll be able to browse, select and upload the file that you want from your local hard drive.

After you have located the file you wish to use, hit the Upload button, and the image should attach as desired. The new file will appear in the lower section of the box. In this lower box you must select the images you want to insert, then click the lower right "Insert Inline" button.

The images will be automatically inserted into your post. You can move them in your post edit box using highlight, cut, copy and paste, to place them where you want them to be.

There is a limit to the file size of any attachments you make. There is also a limit on the total filesize of all attachments combined (it is more generous for paid members.) You may delete old attachments to stay within your allowed limit of attachments (this will remove them from old posts.)

To delete old attachments, go to the top link My Blab > Edit Options, look to the left side panel, and scroll down for the Attachments link. The delete button is in the lower right, you may have to scroll down to see it.

Adding Polls to Your Posts

A poll allows a thread-starter to ask a question and specify a number of possible responses. Other members will then be able to vote for the response they wish, and the results of the voting will be displayed in the thread. To create a poll, utilize the menu under your post editor after initiating a new thread, and set the number of possible responses you want to include. When you click the submit button, you will be taken to the poll creation page, where you can specify the question and the list of responses you want to include. You may also want to specify a time limit for the poll, so that it only stays open for voting for a week or so.

How to Vote in Polls and See Results

To vote in a poll, simply select which option you want to vote for, and click the Vote button. You may view the current results for a poll before you vote by clicking the 'View Results' link.

Poll Voting Indicates New Post Made

Please note that there is a bug in the time-stamp feature for threads - voting in a poll indicates that a new post has been made, even if that's not the case. This will be noticeable to people using the "New Posts" feature or the "subscribed threads" feature in My Panel.

Thread Display Options

When viewing a thread, you will be able to view
the thread from a choice of four modes. You can change settings in your My
Panel or alternatively, there is a
Display Modes link at the top of each thread (note Linear Mode, Newest First is
not available through that link).

Linear Mode(Oldest First):
Posts are displayed chronologically from oldest to newest. Many posts can be
viewed simultaneously.

Linear Mode (Newest First): Posts
are displayed from newest to oldest. Many posts can
be viewed simultaneously.

Threaded Mode: A tree is shown
with every post, allowing you to see who responded to whom. Only one
post is shown at a time.

Hybrid Mode: A mixture of the
linear and threaded modes. The post tree is displayed, but multiple posts
are displayed simultaneously.

Most people stick with Linear Mode, oldest
First, as that is the forum default setting.

Choosing an Alternate Post Editor

Blab's default post editor is the "Enhanced Editor". Most members
will not need to make any change to this selection.

If you wish, you may pick the post editor you prefer in the top link,
My Blab > Edit Options (scroll down).
Blab has interfaces called "post
editors" that you use to compose messages (posts) visible to other members.
These editors use vB Code, a special language that produces cool enhancements to
your text (bold, italics).

Basic Editor: has no vB code
buttons to assist your editing. You must enter any vB Code manually, to
create things like italics.

Standard Editor: requires
you to highlight with your mouse the text you wish to modify and press the
appropriate button. This will place the proper vB Code tags around the
selected text. If you press a button without selecting text, this editor
will insert vBcode tags at your cursor. You may then enter your text between
the tags.

Enhanced Editor: (a/k/a WYSIWYG),
pressing a button will modify any highlighted text. Your final post appears
the same as it does while being edited. Most people prefer to use the
Enhanced Editor.

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